“I’m not really a negative thinker. It was a character test, that’s all.

“Even when I was training alone, just me and one of United’s fitness coaches, I loved going onto the field, doing sprints, being at the training ground.

“The manager came to speak to me. He told me something — it is not my job to say what that was — and then I was training with the first team.”

It is a real testament to Schweinsteiger’s character and raw passion for the game that, even in the face of cold – and indeed never properly explained – exclusion, he continued to smile, work hard and offer everything he could for the side.

The German had spent his entire career at the forefront of proceedings prior to joining United, serving as a midfield lynchpin at both Bayern Munich and Germany for a number of years.

One could have forgiven Schweinsteiger, therefore, for expressing some discontent at his situation, but the 32-year-old set a superb example to footballers everywhere in the way he dealt with his last few months at Old Trafford: to give everything regardless of circumstances and not possess a sense of entitlement. He will always be remembered, above anything, as a class act in the eyes of supporters.